1. Field of the Invention
Buildings constructed of a wood base are made of an assembly of wall sections. Each wall section is composed of a plurality of vertically disposed, spaced apart, parallel wooden studs which are fastened to a horizontally disposed wooden plate and a horizontally disposed wooden top plate. It is important that the studs remain vertical and at right angles relative to the bottom and top plates during completion of the building in order to keep the building squared. The studding is maintained in squareness by a diagonal brace which extends from the top wall plate, across a pluraltiy of studs and to the bottom plate. The present invention relates to such a brace.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The braces of the past have usually been made of wood and are generally a 1" nominal thickness board by several inches wide. The braces are customarily attached to the outside of the studding and in order to retain a smooth surface for the attaching of the outer wall thereover the brace is recessed within notches formed in the top and bottom wall plates as well as the studs. Thus the outer surface of the brace is flush with the outer surface of the wall defined by the studs and upper and lower connecting plate. The notching of the studs and plates is very time consuming and it is difficult to obtain a snug joint between the brace and the members the brace is joining and holding in proper relationship. The notches should be angular because of the diagonal disposition of the brace and unless great care is taken such an angular cut is almost impossible. In present construction methods the carpenters as a rule make parallel cuts in the studs and then with a hammer knock out the section between the cuts. This then forms the notch for the brace. But, as the brace is placed at an angle the notch at one side of the top and the other side of the bottom is considerably larger than necessary resulting in a sloppy joint and a greater than necessary weakening of the stud.